Mike Florio of NBC Sports actually asserted that Washington quarterback Marcus Mariota is playing so well; how do the Commanders take him out?
Florio, co-host of Pro Football Talk (PFT), and Chris Simms were talking about the Commanders on Tuesday. Simms and Florio seemed a bit out of their element talking about the Commanders.
Now, in their defense, they have a job where they are supposed to talk NFL teams, players, coaches, general managers and owners, year around. The reality is that it is an impossible job to do well. The guys on television need to fill the time for each episode of each show, and the truth is, they simply can't and don't know each NFL team very well.
Washington's offense was masterful on Sunday, and David Blough may soon be
a head-coaching candidate. pic.twitter.com/qmtWpJMOlb
— PFT Live (@PFT_Live) September 29, 2026
This was evident again on Tuesday. Florio talked about Marcus Mariota stepping in as a backup and Sunday’s game against Seattle “was this epic back-and-forth.” He also said Mike Tomlin apparently said something about David Blough having games like this; we will be talking about David Blough being the youngest head coach in the NFL.
The truth is, this game was not an epic battle of two offenses or two quarterbacks. One team amassed 437 yards of offense while the other managed only 258. One quarterback threw for 393 yards, while the other threw for 183. That’s 210 fewer passing yards for one of the quarterbacks.
Okay, so were Florio and Tomlin simply seeing some highlights of the game? It’s permissible if that is all they observed. I mean, they can’t watch every game. But wouldn’t you think that, before saying such things, either or both of them would have looked up the statistics to see what actually transpired Sunday in Landover?
Simms referenced Mariota, a backup, being named captain. “Mariota becoming a captain for the year, which is an odd thing. I don’t even know what to make of that.” Florio quickly responded, “I know what to make of it.” Florio is altogether certain, so often isn’t he?
“I know what to make of it. 'Hey Jayden, take your time. Or, if you take too much time, take the rest of the season.' I mean, if Mariota keeps playing well, how do you put him (Daniels) back in?”
Did he really say that? Did he really mean that?
“I’m not saying Mariota is going to keep playing like he did, because there’s a reason Mariota is a backup at this stage of his career. But if the planets have lined up for Marcus Mariota all of a sudden, and if the game has slowed down like it’s never slowed down before and he’s Neo in the Matrix, how do you take him out? Just like Case Keenum, how do you take him out?”
Simms then tried to bring some knowledge of what actually transpired in the game into the dialog, without directly correcting Florio. Simms reminded Florio that Daniels “was awesome two years ago.” He also said the "Commanders defense got a pick-six” and that the Seahawks turned the ball over on a fumble, giving Washington a short 20-yard field to score a touchdown.
So, Florio was so self-assured about how Mariota outdueled Sam Darnold, apparently unaware that the Commanders defense forced three turnovers, scored a touchdown itself, and led to 20 Commanders points.
Finally, Simms himself was quite unaware, questioning if Daniels is actually “the leader of the quarterbacks room," saying, “it doesn't sound like that is the case.”
Simms certainly knows more than enough football, having been an NFL quarterback. But in their exchange, he and Florio made it clear they really don’t know what is happening in the Commanders locker room. Yes, Jayden Daniels is respected as the QB1 by all of the Commanders, including Marcus Mariota.
To the Commanders fan base, you will find these analysts simply don’t know the Commanders nearly as much as your local guy, before you give much thought to what most of these shows ‘reveal’ to their national audiences.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: One analyst had some wild takes about the Commanders win over Seahawks
